Month: September 2021

Asia factories hit by pandemic supply chain disruptions

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Asia’s factory activity lost momentum in August as a resurgence in coronavirus cases disrupted supply chains across the region, raising concerns faltering manufacturing will add to the economic woes caused by slumping consumption.

Manufacturing activity in August expanded at a slower rate in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan as chip shortages and factory shutdowns disrupted production, in a fresh sign of the lingering impact of the pandemic, surveys showed on Wednesday.

China’s factory activity slipped into contraction in August for the first time in nearly 1-1/2 years as COVID-19 containment measures, supply bottlenecks and high raw material prices weighed on output.

The result was well below market expectations, underscoring the fragile nature of China’s recovery that had helped the global economy emerge from the pandemic-induced doldrums.

Also Read: Asian shares down on slow-growth fear; dollar stays near three-week low

“Virus disruptions add to the list of headwinds for the region’s producers, including semiconductor shortages and high shipping costs,” said Alex Holmes, emerging Asia economist at Capital Economics.

The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.2 last month, from 50.3 in July, breaching the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction.

“The latest COVID-19 resurgence has posed a severe challenge to the economic normalisation that began in the second quarter of last year,” said Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group.

The private sector survey followed the official PMI released on Tuesday, which showed the index falling in August but staying above the 50 mark.

The final au Jibun Bank Japan PMI in August eased to 52.7 from 53.0 in the previous month with new export orders posting their first contraction since January.

South Korea’s PMI for August stood at 51.2, falling from 53.0 in July but staying above the 50 threshold for an 11th straight month.

Taiwan’s PMI eased to 58.5 in August from 59.7 in July, while Vietnam saw factory activity shrink to 40.2 from 45.1 in July, surveys showed.

Once seen as a driver of global growth, Asia’s emerging economies are lagging advanced economies in recovering from the pandemic’s pain as delays in vaccine rollouts and a spike in Delta variant cases hurt consumption and factory production.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Top stock tips by Mitessh Thakkar, Sudarshan Sukhani: Mindtree, IGL, Marico and more

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Indian shares are likely to start Wednesday’s session on a flat note amid weakness across global markets. At 8:41 am, Nifty50 futures on the Singapore Exchange — an early indicator of India’s NSE Nifty50 index — were up 14 points or 0.08 percent at 17,139.50.

Elsewhere in Asia, equities trimmed their recent gains in cautious trade on Wednesday amid worries about slowing global growth. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined 0.40 percent, edging off a three-week high hit on Tuesday. In the past two weeks, the index had regained much of the ground lost a few weeks earlier when markets globally dropped, spooked by the possibility that the US central bank was moving closer to tapering its asset purchases.

The dollar inched back from three-week lows.

Overnight, Wall Street indices fell 0.04-0.13 percent after US consumer confidence hit a six-month low amid soaring Covid-19 infections and rising inflation.

CNBC-TV18’s in-house panel of experts has picked a list of stocks for investors to buy/sell in trade today. Here are the top buy-sell calls by market experts:

Catch all live market updates here

Disclaimer: CNBCTV18.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Zoom shares record worst day in 9 months as searing growth tapers off

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Zoom Video Communications Inc shares tumbled nearly 17 percent on Tuesday after the video conferencing company signalled a faster-than-expected drop in demand and analysts questioned its future plans as people return to the office.

Zoom and other video conferencing services such as Cisco, Microsoft’s Teams and Salesforce’s Slack raked in millions of new users as the pandemic forced people to work, study and communicate with friends and family remotely.

With easing pandemic curbs, Zoom will need to find new avenues for growth. The company already made a USD 14.7 billion bet on Five9 in July to bolster its contact centre business.

Analysts said it would take a few quarters for Zoom to return to its true underlying growth rate.

Also Read: Hybrid model of working is going to be the reality, says Zoom COO

“There are significant questions outstanding regarding how new customer demand and customer churn rates will stabilize in the core business following the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions,” analysts at Daiwa Capital wrote in a note.

Zoom forecast current-quarter revenue between USD 1.015 billion and USD 1.020 billion on Monday, indicating a rise of about 31 percent, compared with multiple-fold growth rates in 2020.

At least six brokerages cut their price targets on Zoom, according to Refinitiv data, with Piper Sandler being the most bearish – slashing its price target by over USD 100 to USD 369.

Shares of the company fell by the most in more than nine months to close at USD 289.50 on Tuesday.

The company’s shares rallied to stratospheric highs since February last year, with its valuation touching USD 175 billion in October. Since then, the shares have eased and Zoom’s current capitalization is half of the October peak.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Ami Organics IPO opens: Key things to know

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Surat-based specialty chemical maker Ami Organics’ initial public offer (IPO) hit Dalal Street on Wednesday. The public offer, estimated at Rs 570 crore, comprises fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 200 crore, and an offer for sale (OFS) of 60.6 lakh shares worth Rs 370 crore by existing stakeholders and promoters.

Here are the key things to know about the Ami Organics IPO:

Important Dates: Shares will be available for bidding till September 3 — the last day of the bidding process. Shares are likely to be listed on stock exchanges BSE and NSE on September 14.

Price Band: The company has set a price band of Rs 603-610 for the IPO.

Also read: Key events Dalal Street investors will focus on this week 

Lot Size: Investors will be able to bid for Ami Organics shares in multiples of 24 units (one lot comprises of 24 shares) up to 13 lots (312 shares). At the upper end of the price band, one lot will cost investors Rs 14,640.

Investor Categories: While 50 percent of the issue is reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), 15 percent is for non-institutional investors. The remaining 35 percent quota is reserved for retail investors.

Fund Utilisation: The proceeds from the IPO will be used towards repayment or prepayment of certain financial facilities (Rs 140 crore), for funding working capital requirements (Rs 90 crore), and for general corporate purposes.

Also read: How HNIs invest in IPOs using borrowed money

Company Profile: Founded in 2007, Ami Organics is an R&D-driven specialty chemical maker that develops advance pharma intermediates for active pharmaceuticals ingredients (APIs). Ami operates in multiple product segments, including agrochemicals, polymers and cosmetics.

An integrated supplier of global healthcare products, Ami Organics caters to both domestic and international markets covering the North and South Americas, Europe and Asia. The company has a strong market presence in more than 27 countries.

Also read: Top market debutants so far in 2021

Financials: The company has delivered profits for two back-to-back financial years. In FY21, Ami Organics’ profit after tax came in at Rs 540 crore. In the previous financial year, its PAT was at Rs 275 crore.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

COVID Highlights: Vaccination of teaching, non-teaching staff priority for govt, says Education Minister

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

With 41,965 people testing positive for COVID-19, India’s total tally of cases rose to 3,28,10,845, while active cases have increased to 3,78,181, according to Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday. The death toll has climbed to 4,39,020 with 460 more fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The number of active cases has increased to 3,78,181 and comprise 1.15 percent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 97.51 percent, the ministry said. It said that active cases increased by 7,541 in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 3,19,93,644, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 percent, the data stated.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

5 retirement mutual fund SIPs to consider in 2021

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Mutual funds are an excellent way to spread out risks. They are tailored according to the risk appetite of the investor. In essence, they take care of the downside of investing due to professional management and superior research capabilities.

SEBI designated Retirement Mutual Funds as a separate category so that investors can plan their retirement efficiently. These solution-oriented funds usually invest in low-risk securities to ensure steady returns. The biggest advantage of investing in a retirement fund is that the investor continues to receive returns post-retirement. Investing in Retirement Funds is exempted from Income Tax under Section 80CCC up to Rs. 1.50 lakh per year. These solutions-oriented retirement schemes come with a fixed tenure of 5 years or till retirement.

How To Choose The Best Retirement Plan?

The first thing to consider, while investing in Retirement Funds, is the time period left for retirement. This also defines risk tolerance. For example, someone who is between 35-40 years can choose to invest in a moderate-risk fund that offers steady returns over a period of time. Younger people can take an aggressive approach. Whatever your risk profile, the idea is to beat inflation and amass a decent corpus that will allow you to lead a comfortable lifestyle.

Another factor is to identify what kind of growth you would like to achieve. If your goal is steady growth with moderate risk, you can invest in equity as well as Debt Retirement Funds.

Remember, the longer your investment duration, the higher the returns will be. You can invest in Retirement Funds through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP). Consider this, if you are 35 years, and retire at 60, you have 25 years to plan for retirement. If you invest Rs 5000 every month through SIP, at 15% annualized return, you will be able to create a corpus of Rs. 1.62 crore.

The biggest benefit of SIP is its ability to utilize the power of compounding. It also helps in rupee-cost averaging, meaning the investor need not worry about volatility. One can also invest lumpsum if he has extra money that is lying idle. Lumpsum investments deliver higher returns in the long run.

Here is the snapshot of the performance of Retirement Funds

PERFORMANCE OF RETIREMENT FUNDS

Which Mutual Funds To Invest In?

There is no such thing as the best mutual fund. Retirement planning is a multi-decade effort, hence it is impossible to predict which fund will perform best over the period of few decades. However, one can analyse the past performance, the expertise and performance of the fund manager, Alpha, Sharpe Ratio etc.

If we consider the background of the respective AMCs, it is clear that the funds have consistently outperformed Benchmark in a ten-year period. For example, Take Axis Asset Management Company manages 45 different mutual funds having 60 lakh investor accounts. The equity and hybrid funds have delivered above average returns. The debt funds performance is satisfactory. It also operates three International Funds. The AMC has competent fund managers with a proven track record.

TATA is a household name in India. Tata Asset Management Company (TAM), established in 1994, is among the oldest asset management companies in the country. The company had Rs 76,505 crore in assets under management. It manages more than 65 schemes across various categories. It’s equity schemes have delivered a 3-year CAGR of more than 12%.

The same can be said about ICICI Asset management Company. It has 62 lakh investors and manages 68+ schemes with 4,28,085 crore worth of assets under management.

Your best bet is to consult a qualified financial advisor that can create the right portfolio mix for you. A good financial advisor focuses on asset allocation, and not fund allocation. This behaviour separates them from the average investors.

Whatever time you have got, it is never too late. It is important to start retirement planning now.

The author, Abhinav Angirish, is Founder at Investonline.in. The views expressed are personal

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

MarketBuzz Podcast With Sonia Shenoy: Indian indices likely to open flat amid mixed global cues; Auto stocks in focus

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Indian market is likely to open flat Wednesday amid mixed global cues and the trends on SGX Nifty also indicate a flat start for the broader index in India. The Nifty futures were trading 16.50 points or 0.10 percent higher at the 17,142.00 level on the Singaporean Exchange at 8:20 am.

About MarketBuzz

The CNBCTV18.com podcast on the big themes, vital news and key events that you should know before the opening bell, powered by CNBC-TV18 anchors. MarketBuzz is your daily morning briefing by CNBC-TV18 research analysts and anchors Sonia Shenoy, Ekta Batra, Anisha Jain, Nigel D’Souza and Mangalam Maloo to jumpstart your stock market investing. Subscribe to our free podcasts on Audioboom or listen on the featured podcast page on CNBCTV18.com.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Asian shares down on slow-growth fear; dollar stays near three-week low

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Asian shares gave up some of their recent gains in cautious trading on Wednesday while the dollar inched back from three-week lows, as worries about slowing global growth in several markets returned to weigh on traders’ minds.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.40 percent, edging off a three-week high reached the day before.

In the past two weeks, the regional benchmark has regained much of the ground lost a few weeks earlier when markets globally dropped, spooked by the possibility that the US Federal Reserve was moving closer to tapering its asset purchases.

However, on Tuesday, Chinese blue chips fell 0.44 percent and Hong Kong 0.5 percent, as worries about slowing growth in China remained a drag.

The day before, China reported that factory activity expanded at a slower pace while the services sector slumped into contraction, showing that China’s current soft patch is continuing in the third quarter,” Mansoor Mohi-uddin, chief economist, Bank of Singapore, wrote in a note.

Mohi-uddin added that “authorities may become more open to providing further monetary and fiscal stimulus to keep the economy from experiencing a broader slowdown for the rest of the year.”

Australian shares fell 0.58 percent, paring earlier losses slightly, after figures showed gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.7 percent in the June quarter.

ANZ analysts said ahead of the release that the figures would be “largely old news. The more pressing question is how large the September quarter GDP contraction will be”.

Japan’s Nikkei however gained 0.89 percent, boosted by data showing that Japanese companies’ capital spending rose in the second quarter, the first such increase since the pandemic began.

Fears about slowing growth are not unique to China. Overnight, Wall Street finished marginally lower on Tuesday, after US consumer confidence fell to a six-month low in August as soaring COVID-19 infections and rising inflation dampened the economic outlook.

However, the slightly subdued ending to August failed to detract from a strong monthly performance by the US’ three main indexes, helped by a dovish tone from a speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell last Friday.

As Powell also suggested an improvement in the labour market is one major remaining prerequisite for the Fed to taper its asset purchases, much attention is also focused on US payroll data due on Friday.

Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes gained slightly in Asian hours at 1.3256 percent compared with the US close of 1.302 percent, but were still sitting roughly in the middle of the range in which they have traded for the past two months.

In currency markets, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rivals, rose marginally having fallen to a three-week low the day before.

Oil was steady, with US crude at USD 68.49 a barrel, and Brent crude at USD 71.72 per barrel, neither changed much on the day, having finished August with their first monthly losses since March.

An OPEC+ meeting, where major producers will decide whether to go ahead with their plan to add supply, is due to take place later today.

(Text input from Reuters)

Catch all the stock market live updates here.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow